Ventilated engine compartment



Feb. 7, 1956 E. P. LAMB VENTILATED ENGINE COMPARTMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 2. 1952 7- 56 a. P. LAMB 2,733,772

VENTILATED ENGINE COMPARTMEN'I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 2. 1952INVENTOR. I AE'RNEST P LAMB rroFNI/S? Corporation," HighlandPark',"Mich.,' a corporation "of f at oiilrs t m iittr sl i fe ai iiiifififl- ..f 'l ei i h amira tic lar yttq m ats 9; remit. i 5. t enginecompartment suchthatmaximum engine efliciency maybe obtained at ,aminimum cost.

.ira t i lej he n in Co partme t head/i til s frjoptgwheel fenders aresoformed that maximurrr' air chan s atta ned. nl 1n n c m amre t t .l flist l an h o j ct q th sh 'ien w to provid a hoteltmnt Wh fe er co r ct jnftha sec s inaXimum air change Within the engine co mpartment.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a novel typeofTbuilt-up'; front wheel fender'having a removable sectionto facilitateengine repair and adjustment and associated splashshildingfbafileplating and louvers control the flow of air through the enginecompartment. Other'objects and advantages of' this invention jwillcorneieadily apparent from a reading of the subs e'quent escr'iption ofthis invention and a consideration of: the 'lated drawings embodying twoforms thereof; wherein: g. 1 is a perspective view of the front endportion of ahiotofvehicle that has the engine compartment wallsconstructed in flQQQlfQQIlCeQWiflI this invention;

Fig. g is a side elevationalview of the front end of the vehicle shownin Fig; 1, certain portions thereof being *Figl 3 isa"sectionalelevationalview of a portion of the body construction shownin Fig. 2, the view being taken along the line and in the direction ofthe arrows 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan elevation of the front end construction shown inFigs. 1 and 2, portions of the hood and fenders being broken away tomore clearly disclose certain features of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a readily detachable type ofconnection that can be used between the fender sections.

Fig. 1 of the drawings shows the front end of a motor vehicle body Bthat includes the louvered grille G, the louvered hood H, and thelouvered front wheel fenders F. The grille G has a plurality ofslot-like louvers 11 piercing its front face and arranged such that airmay be passed therethrough and directed across the engine radiator R(see Fig. 4) located rearwardly of the grille G in the enginecompartment C of the body B. Covering the top of the engine compartmentC 15 the three section hood H that is composed of a relatively fiztfidcenter section 15 and the two swingably mounted side sections 16 and aheater section "15 1's" providedwith louver-like Sims 21 ii across itsfront end: to increase "theair flow through the i sifl -?Qfm tfi m 1 Wv- 7 s a 1 "Ea'cli'tender'f Ff is composed offltwo sections,"li 2i 1substantially' errfignnrseetio 25 and a y v 1013? able top "section 26.The removable top sections J'2L6 be lco'fii'iected to nseam-sneersection's 25 "by the Ibolt" connectors 27. Ifiwill b e' noted that theremovable ender 'secti'ons 26 each have several longitudinally ex-:jendihgf, slots 23 along' their i'sidie" surface 15" 28 "provide'theexit 'or exhaust ports; for the" air eihg A forced intg the enartmntCtlirouglfthelfront ver's 11, 21. As will be moreclearlyuriderstood'after eading the subsetiue'ntdesfcriptioii of the-constriic'tioifof th e engine" compartment C, the air"(see' arrows30)"that I i through'the frontlouvers11, 21isiii'rected'rearl'l th ehjdi tgir R and acrosthe inlet tame g bare r Kand'jtheirou toftheenginecorn- ,4 a rtrr'ientCthro'ughtheslots'28'iri "the"ferideflsect'26. Withthe a'r' gen erit sliown' cooldenseair is continuously ed tofthegcarbiiietof and also'coolfreshaif i'sconmuous passe ;grstheeagme Eso as td'dis's'ipate t'produ'ce bithengine. Thiscontinuous frsh"produces mark d'im W Y particularly iri' trrick 'e "sometimes have"to''labor uiiderj'l excessive loads iii; ex-

treme ly warm atmospheres. Whe'ntlie vehicle'h'aving the fi'ont lendconstruction herein disclosed" is 'ino'ving'" for- "w'a'rdlyith'enfresh" air "forcedfiiito the engine" compart- "r'neritCthrough'the'loiivers'l ad oil to being sucl edfi ritothej cbrinpartmentby the 'enginetan (not shown) that isfi'hounted"betweentheradiatof R'andthe front end of the engine E. y

H Cooperating with the air inlet louvers 11,2I"and the:airoutletilouvers ZSiirifpas's ing thef 'c'lo'oling air through heengine" compartment Careihe' Splash shields S" ('see igSLB and 4);'The's'plasl i"shields s extend'f'r'ornfthe r il G a'tith'e front endof"the"'conipartrnent C "tof'the I cowl all L atithe rear endoftheien'g'ine Eompa'r" em j'C N 'Thies shields S are supportedat eacli'endby'fthe ra ets' '36." The brackets35connectthe'fron't ends enderections'Z S; and splash shields S to th'e'g'rille wh'e as he b'racketsij cofinect the rear ends'of the ifen derfsec'ti'onsljijand splash"shieldsSYobowl wall L.

Y p U A, ,7 n ash shield scarves dly and 'downwardlyfrom th'"assobiatedfender s ectiofi' top surface 38 to a location adjacent the associatedchassis frame side rail 40. The lower side edge 41 of each splash shieldS is located close to the associated chassis frame side rail 40 so thata substantially closed engine compartment C is provided. Furthermore,the splash shields are shaped such that air entering the front of thecompartment C through the louvers 11, 21 will pass rearwardly and strikethe splash shields in such a manner that the air will be deflected outof the engine compartment C through the slots 28 in the removable upperfender sections 26.

It will be noted that the upper wall or side 44 of each fender section26 overhangs the splash shield S and thereby provides a U-shaped troughto receive the air that is deflected upwardly and outwardly by thesplash shields S during passage of cooling air through the enginecompartment C.

In addition to cooperating with the splash shields S to improve theventilation of the engine compartment C,

the removable upper fender sections 26 have another valuable function inthat they greatly facilitate service and/or repair of the engine unitlocated in the engine compartment C. From a consideration of Fig. 3, itwill be noted that when a fender section 26 is removed and theassociated hood side section 17 moved to its open (broken line)position, then a service man has a clear area of operation for servicingand/or repairing the engine unit E. To remove the fender sections 26 itis merely necessary to remove the exteriorly mounted bolts 27. Anotheradvantage of the removable fender sections 26 is that when operatingunder heavy load in very warm climates it may be necessary to get asmuch ventilation around the engine E as possible. Under suchcircumstances, the fender sections 26 can be removed from the front endconstruction and stowed away until the operating conditions are morefavorable. When the fender sections 26 are removed then the movable hoodsections 16, 17 are supported completely (see Fig. 4) by the steppedformations 51 on the grille G and the stepped formation 52 on the bodycowl L. Cowl L provides the rear wall of the engine compartment C.

Fig. 5 shows a modified form of detachable connection 61 that can beused between the removable upper fender sections 26' and the fixed lowerfender sections 25 instead of the bolt connectors 27 shown in Figs. 1-4.The removable upper fender sections 26', corresponding to sections 26 ofFigs. 1-4, each have a flange 26'a along its lower edge that mountsseveral spaced, corrugated, flexible, strip-like, tabs 61. These tabs 61are adapted to be positioned in the slots 62 that pierce the overlappingwall portions 37, 38 of the splash shields S and the fixed fendersections 25 respectively. The corrugated connections 61, 62 provide aquickly releasable connection for the removable fender sections 26. Thespring-like corrugations provide an inexpensive releasable connectionbetween the upper and lower fender sections 25, 26'.

From the foregoing it is thought to be obvious that a motor vehiclefront end construction has been provided that gives improved appearanceas well as improved engine compartment ventilation and also facilitatesservicing and repair and maintenance of the engine located within theengine compartment.

I claim:

1. A motor vehicle body having an engine compart ment at the front endthereof defined by a radiator grille.

providing the compartment front wall, a hood providing the compartmenttop wall, a cowl wall providing the compartment rear wall, wheel fendersproviding the compartment side walls, and a pair of splash shields eachof which is supported on the interior side of a fender and arranged toextend inwardly and downwardly towards the bottom of the enginecompartment, said radiator grille being slotted to provide for theforced draft admission of air to the forward end of said compartmentduring forward movement of the vehicle, said vehicle fenders comprisingupper and lower detachably connected sections with the upper fendersections slotted to provide exhaust ports for the air passed into saidcompartment, the upper sections of said fenders that include the slottedformations being shaped to extend upwardly and inwardly towards thecenter of the engine compartment so as to overhang the associated splashshield and provide a longitudinally extending trough for gathering anddischarging the air that is passed through the engine compartment, saidhood comprising a longitudinally extending, centrally located, fixedlymounted section and a pair of movably mounted side sections that aremovable into and out of engagement with the fender upper sections toprovide service openings to the compartment.

2. A motor vehicle body having an engine compartment at the front endthereof defined by a radiator grille providing the compartment frontwall, a hood providing the compartment top wall, a cowl wall providingthe compartment rear wall, wheel fenders providing the compartment sidewalls, and a pair of splash shields each of which is supported on theinterior side of a fender and arranged to extend inwardly and downwardlytowards the bottom of the engine compartment, said radiator grille beingslotted to provide for the forced draft admission of air to the forwardend of said compartment during forward movement of the vehicle, saidvehicle fenders comprising upper and lower detachably connected sectionswith the upper fender sections slotted to provide exhaust ports for theair passed into said compartment, the upper sections of said fendersthat include the slotted formations being shaped to extend upwardly andinwardly towards the center of the engine compartment so as to overhangthe associated splash shield and provide a longitudinally extendingtrough for gathering and discharging the air that is passed through theengine compartment, said hood comprising a longitudinally extending,centrally located, fixedly mounted section and a pair of movably mountedside sections that are movable into and out of engagement with thefender upper sections to provide service openings to the compartment andthe forward end of the hood including slots for the admission of air tosaid compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,974,535 Graffis Sept. 25, 1934 2,041,522 Breer May 19, 1936 2,115,913Hicks May 3, 1938 2,127,321 Barnett Aug. 16, 1938 2,153,535 GregorieApr. 11, 1939 2,162,526 Buick June 13, 1939 2,313,587 Saurer Mar. 9,1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 271,543 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1951 469,700 GreatBritain July 30, 1937 500,684 Great Britain Feb. 14, 1939

